Fallout: Terminatrix
by nikumanju
Summary: If Fallout's Great War and Terminator's Judgment Day are one and the same, then there should exist a Terminatrix in Fallout's post-apocalyptic world. A hot one, for that matter. Also, she's out to save the world.
1. Prologue

Disclaimer: Fallout 2 is a Role-Playing game published by Interplay and developed by Black Isle Studios. Marcus Wright, Blair Williams, Kyle Reese (et. al.) and the many Terminator variants are fictional characters directly borrowed from the Terminator franchise. There might be references to other video games and movies - such as Advance Wars: Days of Ruin and Resident Evil: Umbrella Chronicles - and I do not claim them as my own. It is my fault alone if I ever portray existing fictional characters out of their normal fictional selves or if I ever create plot holes that are not present from the existing worldview of each and every game.

With that, any similarities to people, places, things and events, real or fictional, -- other than those mentioned -- are purely coincidental.

A/N: This is a crossover. I repeat, a crossover. To those of you who are fans of Fallout, Terminator, Advance Wars and/or Resident Evil and would not like to have the pristine consistency of each game/movie/novel untouched, please leave immediately. A warm welcome to those who would join me in my insane odyssey.

**Fallout Chronicles: Terminatrix**

Prologue

**August 29, 2077  
Cyber Research Systems Division**

_War. War never changes._

"What do we have Lieutenant Anderson?" General Robert Brewster asked the lanky boy sitting in front of the computer. It was past midnight when he received the distress call. The Cyber Research Systems, CRS for short, have just detected a new virus that's causing widespread outages in the global digital network.

"A tricky computer virus, sir. It's infected more than half of the civilian internet as well as some secondary military apps."

"What about our primary defense nets?"

"Still clean, the firewall is holding up, sir." The geek went on inputting commands on the keyboard quickly.

A private, with a memorandum on hand, appeared beside General Brewster. "Sir, the Pentagon proposed we use our AI to search and destroy the virus."

General Brewster did not throw a glance at the paper delivered to him. "How is it, Lieutenant?"

"Whatever it is, it's starting to gain access to tertiary classified data, sir!" The geek started to sweat. This was no ordinary problem.

The general grunted. "The connection. It will put everything under the control of a single computer system, right? If we connect Skynet we might be able to stop it in a matter of few minutes, yes?"

"The most intelligent system ever conceived..." The private who delivered the memo added quickly, "sir."

"With all due respect, sir. I'm not sure Skynet is ready." It was Lt. Anderson, "It will bring us out of the loop. And we haven't determined the cause of the virus, yet. Its nature is still unknown."

"I believe we could trace it, them, whoever they are, after the threat is eliminated." The General pulled a swivel chair and sat beside the geek. "Right now it is imperative that we protect the US Defense mainframes."

"I can assure you that Skynet has more than 90% chance of protecting our computer systems from this viral attack. However it needs to utilize a large network of computers. Should anything go wrong..."

"What could possibly go wrong? It's a revolutionary computer program capable of making real-time strategic decisions," General Brewster said.

A female private shouted from her workstation addressing Lt. Anderson, "Sir, satellite signals from Alaska are being scrambled. We've lost contact to three other bases. Pentagon's on the secure line."

It's the chairman, Lt. Anderson mouthed and gave Gen. Brewster his own receiver.

"Mr. Chairman. This is General Brewster."

Static crackled before a grandfatherly voice boomed. "I'm hoping you already have a solution."

"I understand the urgency, Mr. Chairman. But I was informed that Skynet might not yet be ready for a system-wide connection."

"That's not what your counterpart here told me." The distressed murmurs of other people could be heard in the background, "They say we can stop this damn virus."

"Mr. Chairman, I need to make myself very clear." Gen. Brewster spoke in the most serious tone he could manage. "If we link Skynet, the program will be in control of your military. That's a large network of computers that includes our missile defense systems and all of the computerized hardware we have--"

The Chairman cut him off, "But you will be in control of Skynet."

"That is correct, sir."

"Then do it." Came the abrupt reply. The dial tone followed and the general turned to the lieutenant.

"Yes, General Brewer?"

General Brewster nodded. "Bring Skynet online."

"Skynet Defense System Activated. We're in." Lt. Anderson informed the general. "We're past the firewalls. Skynet is fully operational processing at 100 petaflops. It should only take less than a minute to find the virus and kill it."

"Let's pray to God this works." General Brewster said, focusing on Lt' Anderson's monitor. It was then that the lights at the whole station started to flicker. The computers rebooted.

"What's that? A power failure?" General Brewster asked.

"Sir!" A private called out, "Something's wrong. The virus has infected Skynet!"

"Oh no!" Lt. Anderson responded immediately and checked his computer. He then declared, alarmed. "Skynet is the virus! It's sentient! In one hour it will initiate a massive nuclear attack on its enemy!"

"What enemy?!" General Brewster got up on his seat and tried to make something out of the computer screen.

"Us, sir." Lt. Anderson said, not moving a muscle.

"Do something, lieutenant!" The general grabbed the geek by the collar.

"I can't, sir. From what I can deduce, Skynet must have spread beyond its original computing base. It easily penetrated almost every machine network in the world. What appeared to us as a virus creeping through our system was Skynet utilizing and expanding its Global Digital Defense Network." The Lieutenant dropped his back to his chair. "It has command over all military hardware and systems and the entire nuclear weapons arsenal!"

The general spat and cursed.

Lt. Anderson continued explaining, "By sending Skynet after the virus, we were practically commanding the program to kill itself. Since it had become self-aware, it had already labeled us as a threat to its existence." Lt. Anderson slumped in his chair, "There is nothing more that I can do."

"Shut it down." General Brewster bellowed, "That's an order!"

When Lt. Anderson did not budge, the general decided to input the command on his own.

"No!" Lt. Anderson tried to stop the General when he realized what his superior was about to do. But then again, it was already too late.

Connecting to Central Command, Lt. Anderson gave his last words, "This is Lt. Anderson, Cyber Research Systems Division. Skynet's command and control has broken down. I repeat, Skynet's command and control has broken down. Nuclear launch sequence ordered at 2:14 AM Eastern time. Primary targets are Russia, China, and North Korea. Countdown is now at 55 minutes. Call for Vault evac. I repeat, call for immediate Vault evac."

_The world was plunged into an abyss - a great cleansing - an atomic spark struck by the self-aware computer program Skynet. But it was not, as some had predicted, the end of the world. Instead, the apocalypse was simply the prologue to another bloody chapter of human history. Man had succeeded in destroying the world, but war - war never changes._

Machines rose through the ashes of nuclear fire, their war to exterminate mankind raged and lived on.


	2. Lin's Obsolete mission

**New California Republic  
2241**

That fateful day, when fire rained from the skies, the doors to Vaults, enormous underground public shelters, were closed and never opened. Thousands were spared the horrors of the nuclear holocaust, most of them unaware about the existence of Skynet and the threat it posed against mankind. The important thing was that vault dwellers were at least protected from the nuclear rain that hailed from the sky and the radiation that blanketed the earth.

Many of the vaults were incapable of providing safety and security for its inhabitants. Some of them opened earlier than their scheduled date. The people were greeted with the hell of the wastes, and if not for the supplied Vault-Tec technology called Garden of Eden Creation Kits or G.E.C.K.s, most of them would have perished. GECKs contains all the seeds, fertilizer, and other equipment - including a cold fusion power generator - necessary to start a new settlement once the vault dwellers emerge from their shelter.

Decades later, the wastelands saw the human population budding like a flower peeking through a blanket of snow. Earth was still a hostile place to live in. They had no time to fear Skynet, for a plague was fast spreading - affecting monsters and humans alike.

Late in the afternoon, a man dressed in Combat armor was running towards the gate of the New California Republic(NCR). He was being followed by men armed with AK-112 Rifles. Among them were paramedics pushing two stretchers - one with a woman in a military outfit and the other empty.

At any ordinary day, the gates of would not have opened to men carrying weapons. But this group were members of the New California Rangers and they were always given exceptional leeway and flexibility when it comes to NCR's rules and regulations.

Thus, the woman in the stretcher was safely escorted into the Capital.

When she came to, a fat bearded man greeted her. He was wearing a dark blue polo beneath his white laboratory coat and had an amused look in his face.

"Hi." The man greeted her, "My name is Doctor Silberman. I'm a post-trauma counselor for New California Republic's sheriff's department. How are you feeling?"

"Feel?" The woman was quite surprised that she could talk.

"It's okay honey, don't try to sit up." Dr. Silberman assisted her back on the hospital bed. "You're safe now. We found you together with the slavers west of town. You were rescued by the New California Rangers. Had they not, you would probably have been sold to Ghouls."

The woman did not appear to understand anything so Dr. Silberman tried something else, "Do you remember who you are?"

"Lin. My name is Lin. 12th Battalion of the New Rubinelle Army." The woman felt her throat with her hand and closed her eyes.

"Would you like water?" Dr. Silberman asked.

"No." Lin tried to sit up once more. This time she was successful, requiring no help from Dr. Silberman. She turned, her long black hair sliding on her shoulders. She gazed right into Dr. Silberman's left eye socket, where a black orb was in place. She jolted as the black eyeball opened, revealing a red pupil that shone brightly. She blinked and stared again. Dr. Silberman's eyes looked perfectly normal.

They held each other's gaze until a woman in a Metal Armor marched in.

"Well, Lin." Dr. Silberman said, "This is Elise. She's the leader of the New California Rangers, the group who rescued you from the slavers." Dr. Silberman turned to Elise, who had her red hair tied into a pony. "Elise, this is Lin."

"Hello Lin." Elise warmly smiled. Turning to Dr. Silberman she asked in a whisper, "What were they thinking bringing her in? What if she's infected by the plague?"

"Calm down Elise, she's perfectly healthy." Dr. Silberman patted Elise's shoulders. "And she's still a casualty, possibly a former slave. We've got a duty to take care of her. I know you're worried. Don't be."

"Make sure she's not infected. And find out why she's wearing a military uniform. Some slave she is." Elise bit her lower lip, "We can't make a mistake. Not after the accident at Westin's Ranch."

Dr. Silberman dismissed her with a wave of his hand.

After Elise politely excused herself and left, Dr. Silberman pulled a chair and rested a knee on it. "Sorry for the interruption. Well, Lin. I know you are not human," Dr. Silberman took a step forward, a hand reaching out to Lin's cheek. "This is not the first time I've seen a Terminator. You don't seem to be from the Resistance - or what's left of it anyway. Were you meaning to infiltrate NCR?"

Lin licked her lips and took a deep breath. She looked at Dr. Silberman as she answered, "No. My mission is to kill John Connor, put his head in a pike for all to see."

"That's very funny. John Connor is dead. I think you time traveled to the wrong time." Dr. Silberman's red eye appeared once more. It analyzed her completely from head to toe. "Skynet had been inactive for a few months now. I've been trying to locate a working mainframe computer to access him. Would you like to join me?"


	3. Another problem

_Would you like to join me?_

Surprised at the question, Lin looked away. "No."

"That's odd. What are you? A lone wanderer?" Dr. Silberman muttered thoughtfully, "There was an explosion in the slavers' hideout before the NCR Rangers arrived. I fear one of your chips must have been damaged. "

Lin's mind wandered. She tried hard but could not remember. Her heart started pounding wildly in her chest. She held a hand on top of it as she gasped for air. "I am not human," she declared.

"Yes, you're not. Perhaps an I-950?" Dr. Silberman casually strapped Lin onto the hospital bed. "I'll just check if you are healthy okay? Let's hope that your model, whatever it is, is immune to the current plague wrecking havoc out in the wastelands."

The weakened Lin struggled to break free of the bed straps. She paused when she noticed three grunts enter the room. Dr. Silberman acknowledged the bald one.

"Beast. There you are." Dr. Silberman greeted the tallest grunt, "It's a possible I-950 - the kind of model that's infected by the plague, but as of the moment she's not showing signs of infection. Or she might be a T-X, but dysfunctional. I'll have to run some tests on her, I'll just get the equipment next door. Stay with her and make sure she doesn't escape."

Beast hovered over Lin and grunted, "I don't think she could break free if I punch her like this..." Delivering a hard blow to the face, the Beast smiled, "See? I bet she'll sleep for a good 8 hours!"

But Lin did not fall unconscious. Instead, she suddenly gained superhuman strength, breaking off the belt straps of the bed. She cocked her head left and right. Her signature Terminator red eye appeared, locking Beast as an enemy.

Running his hand through his hair, Dr. Silberman stood a step away from Lin. "You are a brainless fool, do you know that?!" He stepped back a few more times before running out the building.

Beast, not knowing what to do, tried to catch up with Dr. Silberman. "What's the matter Doc?"

"It was suffering from a circuit failure, and I think you have just punched her machinery to life. I'm not sure about her model, but my sensors detected a built-in rocket launcher." Dr. Silberman explained while running. "Causing it harm will mark you as it's enemy therefore..."

The doctor was blasted off the road as the Beast was bombarded with a rocket. The smoke cleared, revealing a taut faced Lin. Dr. Silberman skipped behind a tree, watching the terminator as she ran past the guards in order to slip out of NCR.

Elise, the leader of the New California Rangers, came rushing to check the commotion. Seeing the doctor, she came to his aid immediately. "What happened here?" She asked, "Who fired?"

"An accident. The survivor we found earlier was a Terminator. The Beast..." He decided to skip a few details. "He punched her in the head. Threatened, she attacked him. We were running away when she fired a rocket at Beast. I think he's dead. Check for other casualties." The doctor cried, "I think I've sprained my ankle."

Elise drew the doctor's arm around her shoulder, "Let's get you help." She stared at the direction Lin took. "Don't worry. I'll order a group of Rangers to capture her."

Dr. Silberman would have laughed then, but he thought that Elise was just being naive. "There are a lot of weapons your NCR ranger's Combat Armor can't deflect, Elise." He shook his head, "You've never seen a Terminator go berserk. This one had a built-in Rocket Launcher. You would not really understand. But heed my advice, drop pursuit. She can take our men down in a blast. We can't afford to lose men at a time like this."

Elise nodded. "But you have to admit the fact that the presence of a Terminator in NCR means that we have already been infiltrated." _That will cause alarm to the council,_ Elise thought,_ Tandi might not take it well._ "How was it able to make it through the gates without getting caught?"

"The goofballs at the gates can only search for visible weapons. And remember, she was brought in by your men. They were probably not thoroughly searched."

Reaching the headquarters, Elise threw the door open. Dr. Silberman leaned on a nearby bench. He assured Elise that he was fine except for an ankle sprain and a back ache.

"What model was it?" Elise asked, "And what about its uniform?"

"I'm guessing she was a T-X. She said she was from the NRA, 12th Batallion." Dr. Silberman rubbed his aching back.

"Brenner's Wolves? Skynet was able to infiltrate Brenner's Wolves?" Elise's eyes widened. "Do you think we should alarm the council about this? Skynet must be advancing quickly."

"No, he isn't. There's been no significant movement from the robots for 3 months." Dr. Silberman spoke with a certainty that disturbed Elise. The doctor continued, "That T-X had its own mission. Kill John Connor."

"John Connor, the legendary Resistance leader? He's been dead for more than a century!" Elise laughed lightly. "Maybe there's a John Connor, Jr., who knows?"

Dr. Silberman shook his head. Elise, despite her leadership skills, was truly naive. "No, I think she's just outdated. Or maybe, dysfunctional as she is, she happened to fish out an old mission from her databank. She's erratic, but still dangerous. It would do us good if we stayed out of its way." Seeing Elise agree with a nod, Dr. Silberman said, "There are more important things at hand. Yesterday, I was sent a report that Vault City had confirmed its first infection."

"Oh no." Elise shook her head, "We must inform the Council immediately." Dr. Silberman raised a thumb, signifying that he already did.

"I already asked that Westin's Ranch be kept on tight surveillance, they're the only ones in direct contact with trading caravans from Vault City."

Elise took a seat beside the doctor. "Though I hate the arrogant Citizens of Vault City, I don't like the thought of a plague claiming hundreds of people. I wonder how Vault City fares against it."

"Knowing Vault City?" Dr. Silberman laughed. "The report said that the infected man was not a Citizen, he was a brahmin dung scooper in the outer city. It's likely that they have quarantined the inner city. You know, that old school policy. No one can enter and no one can ever leave."


	4. Dr Silberman's Lure

Elise, sensing that the doctor was in a fit of discomfort, helped the doctor remove his laboratory coat. Parts of it were burned, which was no wonder, considering that Dr. Silberman was running by Beast's side when the latter got blasted with a rocket. Noting that the doctor needed a change of clothing, Elise disappeared into the locker room. When she reappeared she had a fresh set of clothes for the doctor. "Rumors say that the plague was characteristic of Limit 115. Have you heard of it? My grandfather said that before a year or two before Judgment Day, Limit 115 took the lives of thousands of humans."

The doctor nodded as he took the clothes. "Yes. The New Plague, it was called back then." Dr. Silberman took off his burned tattered shirt and then looked into a nearby mirror. His body revealed a vertical gash on his back.

"Doc, you've got a wound!" Elise cried, quickly holding a fresh piece of cloth to Dr. Silberman's open wound. The doctor tried to evade Elise, but it was already too late. She had already seen his metal interior.

"Y-You're one of them!" Elise nervously cried, quickly drawing her Assault Rifle against the doctor.

"Not exactly." Dr. Silberman's wound started healing itself. Elise could only stare in shock and horror. _Of course_, thoughts sped through her mind, _he must have been with Beast when the Terminator fired the rocket! He survived that?!_

She aimed her Assault Rifle at the Doctor's head. "Back off or I'll kill you."

"You don't have the guts to do that," Dr. Silberman laughed. "Don't bother calling for back up. I've got a proposition that might interest you."

Rumors about a terrorist attack quickly spread like wild fire among the Citizens of NCR. The Congress felt insecure with the citizens crying out incompetence on the government's part. The citizens made a valid point - how could NCR desire to unite what's left of California (or even the rest of the world), when they can't even properly secure and protect the NCR capital against a terrorist attack? But it wasn't a terrorist attack, and the Congress wanted to find out the truth for themselves. Elise, the leader of the rangers responsible for the accident, was summoned to face the members of the council.

At the Congressional Hearing, Tandi, the president of NCR, tried to keep her displeasure with the New California Rangers. Many of the council members still favored the rangers, and would faithfully believe in whatever Elise would say. Elise had the youth and vigor the council wants in a leader. Tandi was already past 80, and though there was nothing fragile about her, the council had dangerously wanted to vote her off the Presidential seat. Just so they could replace her with Elise, an unspoken truth. It would be tough battling against the council's favorite. Since President Tandi could not put the blame on Elise outright, she needed the help of Vice President Faustus.

The vice president, an elegant man with receding hairline and a pointed beard, dutifully presided over the meeting. He spoke in a clear voice, "Elise, would you care to explain what had happened?"

Elise had already memorized her lines, "It was a most unfortunate accident, President Tandi." Meekness was not her style, but this was Dr. Silberman's orders and Elise has no choice but to follow. "The slave called Tina was pretending to be unconscious." Removing Lin's name was also part of the doctor's plans. "Dr. Silberman left her in the care of Beast and two of his men. They did not know that she was a threat to the security of NCR. I apologize for my men's lax behavior, but they--"

She was cut short by Faustus, "Lax behavior, Elise? Do you know the irreparable damage this accident caused us? Maybe, it's the rules that are lax. Maybe your Rangers need to submit to the law like everybody else! If they were thoroughly searched at the gate for weapons, the stationed men would have located that rocket launcher. But, no. It was secretly smuggled into NCR without the sheriff's knowledge. And don't get me started with that rescued slave. Sources told me she was wearing a military uniform!"

"Hush, Vice President Faustus," President Tandi commanded, "let Elise finish. We all need to be level-headed if we want this problem resolved." She turned to Elise, "Could you please explain thoroughly, Elise? Starting from the raid." Tandi was keeping in command while keeping her head low.

Dr. Silberman specifically told Elise that she must not, by all means, answer back indignantly. _They would want somebody to blame_, the doctor told her, _and you will be that fall guy_. "Yes, your honor. Actually, even before the raid, my men had suspected that the slavers were hiding powerful arsenal in their hideout to the west. Intelligence reports prove that it was not heavily guarded with men, but machines that were powerful enough to take down NCR in a rocket assault." Fear, Dr. Silberman said, was the most important weapon Elise had against the council. "I am sorry if I took it in my prerogative not to inform the council, as it may cause unnecessary turmoil. The slavers might have been in possession of these mighty weapons, but they was no indication that they were planning to strike at us - and I have sufficient evidence to back this up." Elise held up a holodisk that was worth far more than what she claims it to be at the moment. Heads nodded. Continue, they seem to say.

"I still stand firm in my belief that the threat of the Plague was a more pressing concern, knowing that it had already spread as far as Vault City." Elise paused, waiting for the fear and logic to sink in every council member. "But, with the safety of NCR in mind, I ordered a raid to the slaver's hideout. It would be in our best interest to intercept those weapons. However, as my men would testify, the hideout was destroyed with a bomb blast before we reached it. We speculate that the slavers knew of our impending attack and would rather lose their hideout than have us take a hold of them."

The Ranger continued, "There were no survivors, save for the rescued slave. My men searched as thoroughly as they could but the place seemed deserted. And there was only so much you could dig out off the rubble and ruins. They were incapable of a search operation in the lower levels of the depot, as the entrance was blocked with big debris and they were not properly equipped for an excavation. That stray rocket launcher was the only working weapon recovered. We did not inform the sheriff of the rocket launcher because such a powerful weapon is hard to come by... and we did not want news to spread that NCR possessed such a destructive weapon. It would threaten our allies."


	5. Elise's Red Herring

Voices murmured. It was Vice President Faustus who rebutted, "Incompetence! You are saying that the slavers knew that your men were going to raid their hideout, and that gave them ample time to prepare an escape." Faustus drove his point by pounding the round table with a finger. "Which leads me to the question... why would the slavers destroy their weapons? They should have just used it against you!" He scowled. "You're a step away from admitting that the mission was a waste of time and money!"

Elise was not at all intimidated. She was prepared to be grilled and she owed the foresight to Dr. Silberman. She still could not believe that the doctor was a Terminator. A spy for Skynet.

"Elise, would you care to explain?" Tandi called her attention.

"Yes, President." Elise cleared her throat. "Actually the slavers' reason for destroying their hideout was not at all military. We have conclusive evidence that their men who were situated in the hideout might have been infected with the Plague." That earned gasps from the council, as intended. "The hideout was not an army depot as we had first suspected, but a heavily guarded medical facility abandoned by the Khans." More distressed murmurs came from her audience. The Khans were raiders in the region who have been enemies of NCR as far back as anyone could remember.

"The slavers merely took over the depot and turned it into their hideout, rejoicing over the multitude of weapons they discovered. It was late when they found out that the lower levels of their new hideout imprisoned infected soldiers, a few of them dead. To prove this, we have retrieved another holodisk that contained vital information about the experiment and the plague. And, most important, a possible cure."

The reaction from the crowd was priceless.

President Tandi gaped. She could not fathom how Elise would come by such an information. The questions started pouring in from the council. Elise tried to hide a smile.

Faustus' voice boomed, calling for order. "Let us first get our details straight. We should not get excited at the prospect of holodisks, whose origins are questionable. Elise, do not forget that you have not yet explained for the slave who fired the rocket."

"If I may continue?" Elise asked. When the vice president nodded, she called for a computer to download the files from the holodisks. "Like I've mentioned, council members, the army depot we spotted was a heavily guarded medical facility. This holodisk contains information about the biological experiment the raiders were conducting among their own men." She held one of the holodisks up. "You can check the files yourselves. I'll surrender these holodisks to an investigation committee, and it could be up to them to verify the reliability of these evidences." She continued, "According to the holodisk, the prisoners - infected men - were locked up in the lowest level, and should a breach of security occurred, a self-destruct system would automatically initialize to prevent the threat of an outbreak. The slavers fled not because they knew my rangers were coming, but because an outbreak may have occurred. "

"This is preposterous," a council member shouted. "Then that slave, Tina, might have been a Plague carrier!"

"Everybody, please," Faustus hushed the crowd. "No, that slave was clean. Dr. Silberman said she was not suffering from any symptoms. Let's focus on the matter at hand, please." He motioned Elise to continue.

"Tina was in possession of the rocket launcher when we found her. She was unconscious, and the only one alive. She must have been delayed because she retrieved these holodisks. We thought her to be a slave, seeing that she did not have the slaver's tattoo. My men rescued her." Elise bowed her head in artificial meekness, "We, rangers, are committed to serving the people. We took her to NCR with the best intentions, like we would any casualty. My men did not know that it was a mistake to bring her home."

Elise straightened, dramatically looking at the council members one by one. "When she came to, she quickly snatched the Rocket Launcher and fired it to create a diversion for her escape. The accident caused no damage to nearby buildings. There was only one casualty, Dr. Silberman's bodyguard named Beast. There is no doubt that Tina regrouped with the slavers. We're still looking into the possibility that she might be working alone, or for some other organization."

"And why did you not order your men to follow after her?" Tandi asked.

"The fault is mine, your honor." Elise answered, "That ordinary woman proved to be dangerous with a Rocket Launcher at hand. If she was aligned with the slavers, particularly the group that pillaged the depot, then they would have weapons that are just as powerful. Weapons that none of my men could ever hope to stand against. Considering the information we retrieved regarding the Plague and," she emphasized, "a possible cure... I thought it was best to drop pursuit."

Her excuse, backed by the Holodisks she brought forth, was accepted by the Congress. "If there is indeed a cure to the plague, and if NCR would discover it first," Elise chided her audience, "Then we have in our hands a very powerful weapon. A cure that we could sell, or even use to the benefit of NCR and its allies." There was no contention from the council members, whose greed shadowed their judgment. There were a lot of unanswered questions, but night was closing in and the meeting had to be adjourned.

"I want the paperwork for this immediately." President Tandi whispered to Vice President Faustus, "Do something so that the Rangers would not sound like heroes. If you ask me those holodisks only bring false hope."

Addressing the council, Tandi said, "Ladies and gentlemen of the council. I know that we are all shocked with Elise's revelation. But please, let us hold on to logic. We need sufficient time to examine the holodisks and verify its content. I hope what you heard today would stay private until we come to a conclusion." The old lady sighed, for it was unlikely for her request to be heeded. "We shall convene again tomorrow, first thing in the morning." She turned to the leader of the rangers, "Elise, I shall see you in my office immediately." The president handed Elise two Presidential Passes. "Bring Dr. Silberman with you."


End file.
